Oshawa Second Marsh June 25th, 2015

Rain showers were predicted but the light looked good for nature photography, so I went down to the marsh. I'd just put on some repellent and it started to spit. Judging by the sky I didn't think I'd get too wet under the canopy of the trees, so I pressed on. I did end up getting a little wet as the rain stopped & started, but not enough to worry about. 

Parts of the boardwalk are closed so it was a fairly short visit. Rather than climb over the fence at the Beaver Pond, I did the right thing and turned around. It's the first time since I've been visiting the marsh that this side was closed off. Nature takes her toll.

But enough of it was still open to make the visit worthwhile. When it's been a few weeks since I was at the marsh, I really just want to see what changes I might spot. As always, there were a few.

Cow Parsnip. It's quite tall so it makes a nice border on the path.

It looks good in the woods too.

 

Ghost Road Bush is mostly shades of green now. The rain makes things look even greener.

A Mayapple patch.

There's still some Wild Phlox (Dame's Rocket) around.

But its time is coming to an end.

Land Snail

'Snake Spit' — our name for it as kids. It's foamy bubbles from a Spittlebug.

If you separate the spittle you might find a spittlebug larva—a small green worm. If not, he's moved on. They're everywhere this time of year.

 


Wild Rose

Bees get most of the credit for pollination, but some flies contribute too.

A few of nature's tangled bouquets.

The Bedstraw reminds me of Baby's Breath that we put in our bouquets.

Daisies are still a favourite of many. The yellow blossoms are Bird's Foot Trefoil.

Looking like fall. Heaven forbid.

These Egrets were a few hundred yards away. Best I could do with my lens.

They're well away from where any humans can approach so they get to enjoy the marsh undisturbed.

Swans joined the party.

A lousy result but I like the pose.

I wanted to confirm that the boardwalk was closed from the other side too.

It was. This gate looks more permanent.

Bird's Foot Trefoil. Its blossoms look a little odd—to match a rather odd name. On our way to St. Catharines, we saw tons of it along the 407.

I've taken this shot many times over the few years that I've been visiting the marsh. It's taken from near the bridge in the above shot. Almost too much growth to make it interesting. It reminds me of overgrown rivers I've seen in jungles in South America.

This is what it looked like in winter a few years back. Not long after I got this shot, I started taking the scene through the seasons, so I have quite a selection of images of it. It's changing though. Part of the tree on the left has collapsed as the creek bank eroded. You can see it in the shot above (fallen in the water) if you look closely—with the image enlarged—just click on it remember.

And here we are — almost the end of June.

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The Friends of Second Marsh web site...

http://secondmarsh.ca/

A direct link to a map of the paths/trails in the marsh...

http://secondmarsh.outdoorontario.ca/Recreation.html

A link to a page that has my past posts re the marsh, in one place rather than scattered throughout this blog...

                            http://rgbell.ca/2/

On the Path June 1st, 2015

I hadn't been on the path for a while. The Black Locust trees at the start of the path are blooming, with many of the seed pods from last year still clinging to the branches. 
  The flowers are pea-like.

Dames's Rocket. Other common names include Wild Blue Phlox, Woodland Phlox, Wild Sweet William, Summer Lilac, Sweet Rocket and Mother-of-the-Evening—some appealing names. I wonder who started them. And when. 

They add a welcome white, pink and mauve to the ditches on the path.

It always adds to my walk if I see one of nature's creatures. There were two for a few seconds. The other one was much shier and he quickly slipped into the nearby bush.

Dog-strangling Vine (Swallowwort) is blooming now. It's an unwelcome invasive that spreads like wildfire. The tiny, burgundy, star-shaped blossoms are pretty though.

It's already started it's habit of twisting around itself and anything else it meets. If you try to walk through some patches of it, it catches around your ankles. I can easily imagine it strangling a dog—if the dog got tangled in a bad patch of it.

It's time to be careful in the woods again. Not just because of the ticks we're being warned about, but because Poison Ivy is going strong now. 

Look for the three leaves as they always tell us. Two are 'joined at the hip' on the stem and the third is on a short stem at right-angles to the other two. The leaves tend to be irregular on many plants—not symmetrical. Some leaves have quite smooth edges, others are jagged.

At their earliest stage they're often reddish—though I don't think that's always the case. I'm not sure on that point.

To be on the safe side, heed the little rhyme that warns us:
 "Leaves of three, let it be."

Solomon's Seal with its clothesline of buds—an escapee from someone's garden.

Birch tree catkins before they've even thought of opening. The Birch has been known as the "Giving Tree" since pioneer days, because of its many medicinal uses.

'Til next time.

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